6 Dead And Dozens Injured After Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Six people were killed in Illinois and several more were injured as tornadoes raked the Midwest. Besides Illinois, the severe weather also caused damage in Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana.
This post was updated on Monday at 1:30 a.m. ET to reflect the most recent events.
At least six people are dead after a massive severe weather outbreak in the Midwest on Sunday that spawned several tornadoes across Illinois, Indiana, and portions of Missouri and Kentucky.
Two people were killed in New Minden, Ill., a small town in the state's Washington County. Another person was killed in the city of Washington, Ill., in Tazewell County, Patti Thompson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency told BuzzFeed.
Two more people are dead and one is missing in Brookport, Ill., a town near the southern tip of the state, according to KFVS. Thompson was unable to confirm the information when asked by BuzzFeed, but Jonathon Monken, director of IEMA, confirmed the deaths to ABC News.
Dozens more were reported injured in the storms near Washington, Pekin, Ill., and Peoria, Ill., according to the Peoria Journal Star.
Tornado touchdowns have been confirmed by the National Weather Service in Vermilion, Champaign, Tazewell, Woodford, Peoria, Massac, and Iroquois counties. Damage has also been reported from severe weather in LaSalle, Wayne, Grundy, and Washington counties, according to IEMA.
Damage surveyed in New Minden indicated the storm produced a powerful EF-4 tornado there with wind speeds of up to 200mph, according to the National Weather Service in St. Louis.
Calls made by BuzzFeed to the office of Washington Chief of Police Don Volk were met with a message saying, "Due to telephone company facility trouble, your call could not be completed at this time," suggesting phone service outages in the city. Washington is home to over 10,000 people.
As of Sunday evening, there were almost 80 reports of tornadoes, according to preliminary information from the Storm Prediction Center.
Most of these are in Illinois, but tornadoes also caused damage in Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana. Major cities including Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus in Ohio, as well as Louisville, Ky., are still at risk for dangerous weather Sunday night.
Debris hangs from a tree Washington, Ill., early Monday morning
Tornadoes began touching down just after 11 a.m. CT, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago. More reports continued to come in past noon.
1118 AM: Rutland, Dana & Long Point-- a confirmed, large damaging tornado is ON THE GROUND. 1130-1140 AM arrival. Seek shelter now! #ilwx
NWS Chicago
@NWSChicago
1118 AM: Rutland, Dana & Long Point-- a confirmed, large damaging tornado is ON THE GROUND. 1130-1140 AM arrival. Seek shelter now! #ilwx
Around 12:30 p.m. CT, Chicago Bears fans were evacuated from Soldier Field in Chicago as debris began to fly around the stadium.
Live from Soldier Field. #Bears #BALvsCHI
Chicago Bears
@ChicagoBears
Live from Soldier Field. #Bears #BALvsCHI
And Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn urged everybody to stay inside.
Today’s severe weather warnings & storms across #IL are very serious. I urge everyone to pay attention to weather alerts & stay inside.
Governor Pat Quinn
@GovernorQuinn
Today’s severe weather warnings & storms across #IL are very serious. I urge everyone to pay attention to weather alerts & stay inside.
Photos and video from witnesses showed destruction in several small towns throughout central and northeastern Illinois.
A tornado hit Pekin, Ill., around 11:30 a.m CT.
Tornado just hit Pekin
Jack Lance
@Jack_Lance18
Tornado just hit Pekin
Tornado damage. Pekin, IL
Jack Lance
@Jack_Lance18
Tornado damage. Pekin, IL
Jack Lance
@Jack_Lance18
A tornado also slammed Washington, Ill. (population 10,000) — just east of Peoria.
At least 50 homes were completely destroyed.
Tornado levels at least 50 homes in Washington, Ill. (@Pantagraph) http://t.co/XvhCgh09fy
Jon Passantino
@passantino
Tornado levels at least 50 homes in Washington, Ill. (@Pantagraph) http://t.co/XvhCgh09fy
Confirmed aerial photo of tornado damage in Washington, IL (originally tweeted by @JournoBuedel)
SevereStudios
@severestudios
Confirmed aerial photo of tornado damage in Washington, IL (originally tweeted by @JournoBuedel)
Devastation from Washington, IL. Please pray for those affected. Horrific images coming in.
Bryce Kintigh
@stormchasrbryce
Devastation from Washington, IL. Please pray for those affected. Horrific images coming in.
Just spoke with #Washington mayor. I asked what we can report to help. He said only "please pray."
Alexandra Sutter
@Alexandra_WMBD
Just spoke with #Washington mayor. I asked what we can report to help. He said only "please pray."
Footage of the tornado in Washington, Ill.
View this video on YouTube
A man filmed the tornado pass behind his house in Washington.
View this video on YouTube
A look at the tornado that touched down near Washington, #Illinois
Kristin Walls
@WHAS11Kristin
A look at the tornado that touched down near Washington, #Illinois
#WashingtonIL
Chris Khoury
@ChrisKhoury182
#WashingtonIL
After the tornado #Peoria #Washington
Chris Khoury
@ChrisKhoury182
After the tornado #Peoria #Washington
Peoria, Illinois
A friend just texted me this pic from Washington where a home stood a few hours ago:
Matt Buedel
@JournoBuedel
A friend just texted me this pic from Washington where a home stood a few hours ago:
Coal City, Ill. — like Washington — was one of the towns hit hardest by the storms. The town is home to about 5,000 people.
This was a tornado picture earlier in Coal City and Grundy County #ilwx
Forever Chasing
@foreverchasin
This was a tornado picture earlier in Coal City and Grundy County #ilwx
Picture: Significant damage in Coal City, IL after earlier tornado via @SteveGrzanich
Johnny Kelly
@stormchaser4850
Picture: Significant damage in Coal City, IL after earlier tornado via @SteveGrzanich
Damage in coal city @abc7
Daniel Darling
@DanDarling2
Damage in coal city @abc7
This is absolutely horrible. This was taken in Coal City, IL. #ilwx #severeweather #tcot
doc
@timeboat56
This is absolutely horrible. This was taken in Coal City, IL. #ilwx #severeweather #tcot
A tornado watch was also issued for central Indiana.
Lebanon, Ind.
From @tammylively: House in the middle of road in Kokomo, Indiana
Michael Rusch
@weeddude
From @tammylively: House in the middle of road in Kokomo, Indiana
Southwestern middle school gym. Destroyed. @FOX59 @fox59weather #INwx
Ann Keil
@AnnKeilFOX59
Southwestern middle school gym. Destroyed. @FOX59 @fox59weather #INwx
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
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Tony Merevick reports on national LGBT news for BuzzFeed. He has covered LGBT community news and politics since 2010 and joined BuzzFeed in 2013.
Contact Tony Merevick at tony.merevick+DONE@buzzfeed.com.
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